Greek Festival
Holly Street Condominiums Denied Rezoning Application
City Forces Residents Into Mediation With Developer
by Mark Smiley
In the April 2018 edition, the Chronicle reported on a proposed condominium development called Green Flats that would be located on Holly Street, between Cedar and Alameda, south of the strip of businesses that includes Novo Coffee and Park Burger. The proposed project would have 27 condominium units, 40 uncovered parking spaces in back, a 20-foot setback from Holly street, and stand 35 feet high, seven feet higher than the Park Burger business complex.
On April 4, 2018, the overwhelming pro developer Denver Planning Board (an 11-person board appointed by Mayor Michael Hancock) entertained the application for this three-story condominium project. Residents from the neighborhood filed into the Planning Board meeting to speak in opposition.
All told, 17 people went on the record, some for, but mostly against the project. In a stunning turn of events, the Planning Board voted to deny the application finding that the “applicable review criteria have not been met.” The vote cast had six in favor, one opposed, and one abstention.
Residents who opposed this project had little time to celebrate . . . Most cities in Colorado prevent a similar proposal from being considered for at least a year, but not Denver. Instead the city forces the successful residents into immediate mediation with the developer with the city choosing a mediator who some claim leans toward being pro developer.
“The city is really pushing to have this developed,” said Denver realtor Denice Reich. “They are trading affordable housing for the myth replacement of affordable housing.”
Since the April 4 Planning Board meeting, the developer Jason Lewiston, president of Greenius LLC and the applicant representing the homeowners seeking the sale of their property Anna Dewitt, have submitted a revised application.
They are asking that all three parcels receive the same Urban Edge multi-unit 2.5 story designation that the current condos have only “with waivers.” The new application doesn’t include new plans, but now says there will be 25 units instead of 27. It is suspected by some opponents that the Planning Board’s staff recommended the amended application indicating it might be something the City Council finds acceptable. Critics charge that there is virtually no development the city doesn’t find acceptable.
The “mediation” was held on May 7, 2018, at Augustana Lutheran Church. According to some of the 24 attendees the mediator’s only task appeared to be to get a development that Lewiston would approve. The mediator made a list of questions and three residents were chosen to sit down with the developer and the applicants at a later date.
If you wish to follow what’s happening in this rapidly developing story, visit www. glendalecherrycreek.com or follow the Chronicle on Twitter, Facebook at @GCCChronicle.
Plan Denied: The initial proposed site development for a 27-unit condominium project on Holly Street was denied by the Denver Planning Board on April 4. On May 7, the city forced a pro developer on residents opposing the project.
Leading The Opposition: Denver Realtor Denice Reich has been opposed to the development on Holly Street stating that “they are trading affordable housing for the myth replacement of affordable housing.”
10 Ways To Have A Safe Summer
by Joshua Foster
Summer is time for adventure, getting outside and getting in shape. It’s also time to be extra diligent when it comes to your health and safety. In celebration of June’s National Safety Month, we’re sharing these 10 tips to have fun — but stay protected — all summer long.
Do your research. In Colorado, summer often means outdoor adventures. To stay safe, don’t stumble into things blindly. Have an idea of where you’re going and what you can expect. If you’re hiking, seek out maps and trail advice. If camping, learn about site conditions and rules as well as the area wildlife. Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly.
Train. As you enter the summer, also have an idea of what you’ll be doing. If climbing a 14er is a goal, incorporate a training schedule of stairs, lunges or walking on the treadmill at an incline. If you’re heading to the beach, work on your cardio. Add weights so you develop the strength to pull yourself out of the water safely.
Be water smart. If you have swimming adventures planned, know that being in open water is different from being in a pool. Lakes and oceans require more strength to withstand waves and currents. Know the depths and permitted swimming areas. Use the buddy system and don’t take chances.
Be observant. When you do get to your destination, pay attention to posted rules and maps. Slow down and read the signs. This can not only keep you safe but also protect the environment. People often rush over trails, missing the “do not cross” signs. They end up in a dangerous situation or destroying the ecosystem.
Communicate. Wherever your summer takes you, make sure to have a plan to stay in touch. Let people know where you’re going and when you expect to be back. Many places don’t have cell phone reception. Set a deadline to check in so others know you’ve made it back safe.
Stay active. Take advantage of the warm weather and longer days to reduce your risk of issues like obesity, heart disease, and stroke and to stay healthy longer. Aim for 150 minutes of exercise a week. It may seem like a lot but it quickly adds up — Holding walking meetings, playing with the kids, doing yard work, or taking the dog for a walk.
Stay hydrated. Drinking water is important all year, and especially in the summer. The standard recommended amount is 64 ounces a day, but it’s a better strategy to watch for other signs that you’re properly hydrated. You shouldn’t have dry skin or feel feverish. Urine should appear clear, and if you press down on a fingernail and release, the nail should quickly go back to its normal color. This is a good indication of how fast your blood is flowing. Do not wait until you’re thirsty to grab some water.
Rehydrate smart. If you do become dehydrated, you may feel tired or dizzy or develop headaches, and dehydration in the summer can lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. If you’re feeling any of these symptoms, take immediate steps to cool down physically. Get out of the sun, look for shade, and or seek air-conditioning. Start drinking slowly — but not too much, too fast. You don’t want to slam water. You’ll know you’re rehydrated when you start sweating again or your skin tone returns to normal.
Stay cool. As you spend time outdoors, make sure you’re wearing clothes designed for summer. Cotton doesn’t allow sweat to evaporate, which retains heat and adds to dehydration.
Look out for the kids. Finally, remember that all the summer safety rules that apply to grownups are good for kids too. To further keep kids safe, remember awareness. Know they gravitate to high-risk activities, they might not know if they’re getting overheated, and they may not recognize their own physical limitations. Make sure your kids are educated, dressed for the season, and prepared for anything that could happen.
To learn more about staying safe — and living healthy — during National Safety Month and all year long, contact the fitness professionals at the YMCA. We’re here for you!
Joshua Foster is the Health & Wellness Director at the Downtown Denver YMCA. He has worn various hats over his seven-year career with the YMCA, including Wellness Coach and Personal Trainer. Joshua received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science Education from The Ohio State University.
If You Don’t Have An SEO Team And A Videographer For Your Business You Are Losing Out To Your Competitors
SEO: If your business does not have a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) team, you may be falling behind your competitors.
by Glen Richardson
A search of “Dog Groomers in Denver” turns up 8,490,000 hits on Google. “Pizza Places in Denver” returns 27,300,000 results. Google “Dentists in Denver” and you’ll get over 33 million. “You literally have a greater chance of being hit by a meteorite (1 in 1.6 million) than your business has of getting found through a search engine,” says Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle Marketing Director Julie Hayden.
Google says it processes 40,000 search queries a second. Hayden says businesses know it’s important to have a presence on the internet. But the challenge is getting there. “Every day I talk to people who want to promote their business or event. But owners wear so many hats these days, it’s challenging enough just to create and maintain a website let alone figure out how to increase their online visibility.”
That’s why the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle is launching a partnership with an
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and a v
Maximize Exposure: Seth Drake with JSD Digital uses industry leading tactics to make sure clients get found faster on internet searches.
ideo production company, JSD Digital.
“We want to help our clients and small businesses increase online visibility. It’s a direct correlation: the more people see and connect with your brand, the more likely they are to pursue your services,” Hayden points out.
Get Found Faster
Seth Drake, owner of JSD Digital, says, “If you are not working with an SEO expert, you are already behind because your competition is.”
He explains, JSD Digital uses industry-leading tactics to first check and amend your site to be sure the architecture and design of the pages are recognized as relevant to your industry. This helps search engines understand your business and therefore rank them accordingly. “The landscape of SEO changes quickly, and we are on the leading edge of understanding and utilizing what works,” Drake adds.
From reputation management to proper schema mark up to the discovery process behind keyword analysis, JSD Digital harnesses all avenues within SEO. “The internet can be your best friend or a debilitating enemy,” explains Drake. “Companies want to know that when they are spending money, it’s so they can directly make more money. That’s what it comes down to. There is a lot of technical jargon but what is important is the bottom line and bringing in customers you wouldn’t have otherwise reached.”
Video Equals Views: Jennifer Jordon with JSD Digital produces visually compelling content that gets clients noticed.
Drake notes the partnership with the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle creates win-win cases where a business is featured in a news article and can capitalize on that positive press. “JSD Digital will make sure that positive article stays on the first page search results for months or even years after the print date. The benefits from quality press coverage will give your business legitimacy and help build trust in the marketplace.”
“If you advertise in the Chronicle, augmented by SEO and videography, you are getting the biggest bang for your dollar,” Hayden added.
Drake dove into the world of SEO as a small business owner himself. It was hard for his new business to stand out among more aged and trusted brands. Looking for innovative ways to promote his new business he turned to the internet and SEO. “Seeing so many quality brands and companies buried by the competition was frustrating. I started studying and exploring different techniques to boost rankings to ultimately match customers looking for what I was offering.” After seeing so many other local businesses out there hitting the same hurdles, he founded JSD Digital to help business owners increase their relevancy. “It comes down to persistence, research, and understanding how search engine algorithms work. You have to give the search engines what they are looking for to get results.” Drake explains the process of SEO is ever changing. He enjoys making the process evergreen which allows his results to grow versus other “churn-and-burn” tactics that may generate quick boosts, but fade just as quickly.
Drake uses a combination of many “white hat” techniques — meaning these approaches are acceptable by Google and related search engines without breaking their terms of service. Calculated plans are designed for each client. “Customization is the key, everyone’s business and website is unique and it’s important for us to understand how to fit their needs for their market. One size does not fit all in SEO.” adds Drake.
With this kind of experience, Drake can not only maximize your business’ exposure on search engines, he can help manage online reputations and reviews.
Get Engaged
Hayden says the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle’s partnership with JSD Digital offers a second level of enhancement for business’ online presence and that’s video. “We live in a visual world, consumers are bombarded by thousands of ads daily. If you can’t stand out, you won’t be remembered.” Research shows videos are twice as likely to get views than still pictures or text alone. But many small business owners don’t have the time or ability to put together professional videos.
Jennifer Jordon, who oversees video production at JSD Digital explains, “That’s where we come in. Our passion is exploring how to make your brand shine on a visual platform.”
Jordon has over 10 years experience producing television and commercial content. “Seeing the control of the advertisers for prime-time programming inspired me to do something different with the skillsets I had cultivated directing and producing various productions.” Jordon further explains that small businesses need more r
Award-Winning Expertise: Behind the scenes with JSD’s Jennifer Jordon on location with HGTV’s The Treehouse Guys.
esources than ever to compete with large brands. Having a memorable video or collection of still photography can be an invaluable resource. “At JSD Digital, we offer many tiers of production services,” she says. “Getting creative with a budget and collaborating is my favorite part. Memorable commercial content can give any business the lead they are looking for to get ahead of the competition.”
Jordon points out the videos can also be posted on a company’s Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube, and she works with companies to make the most of their digital assets.
If you have considered SEO or are curious about the potential, JSD Digital offers free consultations and website evaluations.
For more information, contact Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle Marketing Director Julie Hayden at julie@glendalecherrycreek.com or 303-359-8366.
One Wild Primary Election Night Coming Our Way
The Colorado primary season will come to a dramatic conclusion on the evening of June 26, 2018. It has already been a topsy turvy primary season. The leading Republican candidate for governor, Walker Stapleton, had to abandon his petition drive after already submitting his petitions to the Secretary of State for fear that a large number of the signatures would be thrown out for using unqualified petition gatherers. Instead he went the Assembly route and only beat second place fi
Kent Thiry
nisher Greg Lopez, whose only claim to fame was being the young Mayor of Parker 30 years ago, by less than 10 points. Lopez was virtually an unknown individual at the beginning of the process. Lopez does not have any personal wealth and raised little or no money prior to the State Assembly, but he traveled all 64 counties of Colorado and gave a rousing speech at the Assembly.
In addition, six-term Congressman Doug Lamborn of El Paso County was thrown off the ballot by the Colorado Supreme Court for ineligible petition gatherers, only to have that decision overturned by Federal District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer.
Karen Kataline
On the Democratic side the three gubernatorial candidates — Jared Polis, Cary Kennedy and Mike Johnston — have raised and/or personally contributed record breaking amounts of money for their campaigns. Johnston hit a fountain of cash from anti-gun Bloomberg groups while Kennedy is being generously funded by Colorado’s public employee unions. Polis is perhaps the richest man ever to run for Colorado governor and is strongly backed by Bernie Sanders progressives.
The Democratic National Congressional Committee (DNCC) has recruited moderate “blue dog” candidates across the country in an attempt to win back the House from the Republicans. The DNCC has even run smear campaigns in Texas and other states against Bernie Sanders progressives in favor of their establishment candidates. In Colorado, progressive Levi Tillemann, a candidate for the Sixth Congressional District now held by Republican Mike Coffman, recorded Steny Hoyer, the second in command for Congressional Democrats, demanding he withdraw his candidacy in favor of DNCC candidate Jason Crowe, a lawyer who doesn’t even live in District Six.
But all of that brouhaha will be nothing compared to election night when who will take the primaries for the respective parties is absolutely unknown. This conundrum is due to three factors. First is Proposition 108, approved by the voters by a close margin in 2016. It provides that unaffiliated voters will get both a Democratic and a Republican ballot and they can choose one or the other. Prop 108 was the brainchild of disreputable and sleazy businessman Kent Thiry who spent millions to get it passed and desperately wanted to be Colorado’s governor in 2018. Thiry knows that the Democratic Party wanted nothing to do with him but he had calculated that a highly diluted Republican Party, with the help of unaffiliated voters, could be persuaded to make him its candidate if he spent enough money. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. Thiry’s cutthroat and unprincipled business tactics in running DaVita, a kidney dialysis company, were devastatingly exposed by television comedian John Oliver in a segment of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” on HBO.
While Thiry’s political ambitions lay in tatters at least for 2018, the state’s voters are left with Proposition 108. Its intent was to allow middle of the road moderates, particularly Republicans, to prevail in primaries. Will it have that effect, no one knows. It will allow one party to play in the other’s primary. On the Republican side so-called “strategic voting” has become all the rage for the upcoming primary. Operation Chaos Colorado has been promoted by radio show host Karen Kataline who is urging Republicans to unaffiliate, get both ballots and vote for the weakest Democratic candidates. For example, most Republican strategists believe Jared Polis would be a far weaker candidate than Cary Kennedy in the day of the #MeToo Movement. Kataline points out that the Democrats have been playing this game for a long time, as demonstrated by the financial and other support that Democrats gave to Dan Maes in 2010, over a much more electable Scott McInnis.
Prop 108, in combination with the all mail-in ballot election, makes it almost impossible to determine who will vote and in what primary. Moreover, establishment candidates of both parties once had an enormous advantage due to the fact that The Denver Post seldom promoted or even covered lesser known candidates. The slow demise of The Denver Post, which no longer even has an editorial opinion writer, means that the lesser known candidates may have a greater chance of winning than ever before.
So get the popcorn out and watch the results roll in on the night of June 26. There may be some amazing upsets.
- Editorial Board